Four Ways to Indulge with Less Holiday Stress and Anxiety About Your Meals
The holidays are a time for epic celebrations – which often includes indulgence and temptation with food and beverages. If you are trying to stick to health goals (related to food and nutrition), it may be hard to find a balance that you feel good about.
Want to beat the anxiety? Just eat it!
The first thing our providers want you to do is to prevent stress eating by enjoying your food. This is because, if we are prone to food anxiety, we’ll end up producing even more stress hormones (called catecholamines).
Catecholamines have an adverse effect on your health and will slow down your digestion. They can also cause high-blood pressure, spikes in blood sugar, and increases in sodium retention.
Stick to a regular eating schedule
Sticking to a consistent eating schedule can relieve stress that comes from approaching meals. It’s tempting to skip a meal to save your appetite. Ultimately, this can lead to excessive overeating or poor nutritional choices.
It may sound like surprising advice, but we say… eat more before! We recommend a small meal or healthy snack every four hours. This helps maintain blood sugar and curbs cravings before heading into a meal.
And don’t forget the protein to satiate your appetite and balance carb-heavy holiday buffets.
Keep Healthy Holiday Snacks On Hand
Keeping healthy snacks nearby ensures that no matter where the holiday meal takes you, you have nutritious options available. 
It is always smart to pack your own nutritious treat from home and give yourself the option to avoid poor diet choices.
Snacks like nitrate free jerky, sprouted pumpkin seeds, and raw nuts are easy to pack-and-snack options that can help you leave a holiday party feeling good.
Another option is non-processed health bars such as RX Bars, Hemp Harts, or Epic Bars.
Limiting Simple Sugars
This final piece of advice might be hard swallow. After all, sugar plums and cookies are synonymous with the season!
It’s helpful to remember that simple sugars can suppress immune activity and result in other negative impacts on our health. You can certainly enjoy your favorite treats but if you’re looking to combat cravings that lead you to the dark side of the holiday party, bring a baggie of dark chocolate or fruits to help supplement your sweet tooth cravings.
Looking for more nutritional support?
If you’re interested in more support, our team of Functional Medicine providers and Clinical Nutrition experts can create a roadmap to help you enjoy your food while optimizing your health!
We offer free consultations, virtual care, and are in-network with some insurance providers. Connect with our team by scheduling an appointment below!
